Eastern Kentucky will be playing its third straight road game to start the football season Saturday when the Colonels take on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
For EKU cornerback Jeremy Caldwell, however, this is a trip home. And Mocs offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield will be happy when he’s gone.
“He’s scary,” Satterfield said of Caldwell, who earned all-state and Times Free Press City Player of the Year honors as a senior at Red Bank High School.
When the Mocs (0-2) host the Colonels (0-2), Caldwell will be playing in his first game ever at Finley Stadium. Both teams are in desperate need of a win, and the 5-foot-10, 183-pound junior will likely play a major role in which team gets to finally celebrate.
“UTC’s a good team and we’re going to come down and focus up and be ready to play,” Caldwell said.
He was a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection last season after tying for fourth nationally with seven interceptions. A preseason candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the Football Championship Subdivision’s top defensive player, he returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in last week’s 23-13 loss at Louisville.
“It’s definitely one of the best plays I’ve made in my career,” he said.
Colonels coach Dean Hood said after the game that if the ball is thrown Caldwell’s way, “You better be sitting on the edge of your seat or you might miss something. He’s an explosive, explosive player.”
When he was coaching at UT-Martin, Satterfield recruited Caldwell, so he knows the type of player the Mocs will encounter Saturday.
“He’s got great ball skills; he can run, cover; and the most impressive thing is that he is so physical,” Satterfield said.
The Mocs also recruited Caldwell, who said UTC was among his top three choices. Ultimately, he said, he “didn’t want to be so close to home.”
Caldwell is one of three area players on EKU’s roster. Orlandus Harris, a junior who played at Brainerd, leads the Colonels’ receivers with 10 catches for 144 yards. Former Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe standout LaGreg Burns, a true freshman, has not played this season.
“It feels real good to have these guys up here with me,” Caldwell said. “I was here first and brought those guys in, and hopefully we’ll get a few more up here.”
Mocs coach Russ Huesman said he and his coaches are doing everything they can to keep the top area talent in Chattanooga.
“All you can do is recruit them, love them and if they choose to come here, that’s great,” he said. “If they choose to go elsewhere, then there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.